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The littoral combat ship (LCS) is a class of relatively small surface vessels intended for operations in the littoral zone (close to shore) by the United States Navy. It was "envisioned to be a networked, agile, stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti-access and asymmetric threats in the littorals."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Product Lines at Supship Bath )〕 The and the are the first two LCS variants. Both are slightly smaller than the U.S. Navy's guided missile frigates and have been likened to corvettes. They have the capabilities of a small assault transport, including a flight deck and hangar for housing two SH-60 or MH-60 Seahawk helicopters, a stern ramp for operating small boats, and the cargo volume and payload to deliver a small assault force with fighting vehicles to a roll-on/roll-off port facility. Standard armaments include Mk 110 57 mm guns and RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles. They are also equipped with autonomous air, surface, and underwater vehicles. Possessing lower air defense and surface warfare capabilities than destroyers, the LCS concept emphasizes speed, flexible mission modules and a shallow draft. The first littoral combat ship, , was commissioned on 8 November 2008 in Veteran's Park, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The second ship, and first of the trimaran design, the , was commissioned on 16 January 2010, in Mobile, Alabama. In 2012, CNO Jonathan W. Greenert stated that LCSs would be deployed to Africa in place of destroyers and cruisers.〔Freedberg Jr., Sydney J. ("LCS Couldn't Survive War With China, But It Could Help Prevent It: CNO." ) ''Aol Defense''. 12 April 2012.〕 In 2013 and 2014, the Navy's LCS requirement was progressively cut from 55 to 32 vessels in favor of a proposed frigate, more capable of high intensity combat. In late 2014, the Navy proceeded with a procurement plan for enhanced versions of the LCS and upgraded older ships to meet the program's 52-ship requirement;〔(Hagel Approves Navy’s Proposal to Build More Lethal LCS Variant ) - Military.com, 11 December 2014〕 the modified LCS will be redesignated as a frigate.〔(SNA: Modified Littoral Combat Ships to be Designated Frigates ) - News.USNI.org, 15 January 2015〕 ==Design features== The concept behind the littoral combat ship, as described by former Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, is to "create a small, fast, maneuverable and relatively inexpensive member of the DD(X) family of ships." The ship is easy to reconfigure for different roles, including anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, homeland defense, maritime intercept, special operations, and logistics. Due to its modular design, the LCS will be able to replace slower, more specialized ships such as minesweepers and larger assault ships. Most of the mission modules' functions are performed by carried vehicles such as helicopters or unmanned vehicles such as the Spartan Scout, AN/WLD-1 RMS Remote Minehunting System and MQ-8B Fire Scout as part of the Navy's goal to "unman the front lines". Performing functions such as sonar sweeps for mines or submarines as well as launching torpedos against hostile submarines at a distance from the ship is less risky.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Hybrid sailors drive LCS anti-sub module )〕 Placing sensors on remote vehicles allows the LCS to exploit concepts such as bistatic sonar. DARPA's Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) program aims to build a Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV) that can operate from LCS-2 and can carry a payload of out to an operational radius of . A report in 2010 by the Pentagon's director of Operational Test and Evaluation found that neither design was expected to "be survivable in a hostile combat environment" and that neither ship could withstand the Navy's full ship shock trials. The Navy responded that the LCS is built to a Level 1+ survivability standard and that the ships will rely on warnings from networks and speed to avoid being hit, or if hit be able to limp to safety.〔Freeman, Ben. ("A Response to the Navy's 'Vigorous Defense' of the Littoral Combat Ship." ) ''POGO'', 1 May 2012.〕〔O'Rourke, Ronald. ("CRS-RL33741 Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress." ) ''Congressional Research Service'', 6 April 2012.〕 Jonathan Greenert said that the crew would "conduct an orderly abandon ship" if their ship was struck by enemy fire, an action that might not be necessary on other vessels in the same circumstances. The ships were designed to minimize vulnerability with modern automated damage control systems to perform its mission, then withdraw from the area under its own power. The LCS's combat abilities were said to be "very modest" even before the cancellation of the XM501 Non-Line-of-Sight Launch System. The ''Independence'' variant reportedly has better helicopter facilities and more internal space while the ''Freedom'' variant is said to be better able to launch and recover boats in high seas. Admiral Gary Roughead said that a mix of both types would be "operationally advantageous".〔Cavas, Christopher P. ("LCS plan attacked, but gains support." ) ''Navy Times'', 15 December〕 In April 2012, Chief of Naval Operations Greenert said, "You won't send it into an anti-access area," rather groups of two or three ships are intended to be sent into areas where access is jeopardized to perform missions like minesweeping while under the cover of a destroyer. The LCS main purpose is to take up operations such as patrolling, port visits, anti-piracy, and partnership-building exercises to free up high-end surface combatants for increased combat availability.〔 Navy Secretary Ray Mabus clarified that the ship could operate in combat areas while under the protection of other warships.〔Freedberg, Sydney J. Jr. ("LCS Is Too A Real Warship, Insists SecNav." ) 17 April 2012.〕 The ships are planned to have a 3:2:1 manning concept. That is three ship crews, and two hulls for each ship that is on station at any time. The other ship and other two crews who are not on deployment will either be preparing for deployment or in rotation in or out of theater. The result is a 50% reduction in ships and a 25% reduction in crews (and smaller crew sizes) than traditional deployment practices. The ships were predicted to fall short in manning.〔Williams-Robinson, MJ. ("A Littoral Combat Ship Manpower Analysis Using the Fleet Response Training Plan." ) ''Naval Postgraduate School'', 2007.〕 The Navy has deployed ships with berthing modules in the mission bays in order to carry the crew required for operations.〔Ewing, Philip. ("SAS12: LCS modules may never be ‘final’." ) ''DoD Buzz'', 16 April 2012.〕〔O'Rourke, Ronald. ("Navy Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program: Background, Issues, and Options for Congress." ) ''CRS'', 20 March 2012.〕〔("House panel raises doubts over manning LCSs." ) ''Navy Times'', 15 May 2012.〕 However the ships are designed with sufficient headroom to change from 2-high bunking to 3-high bunking, which would allow crew sizes of 100 if needed.〔("Navy Undersecretary Discusses Future of the Surface Combat Fleet." )〕 The LCS is the first USN surface combatant class in a generation to not use the Aegis Combat System, though Aegis-equipped variants have been offered to foreign customers.〔("A heavy duty LCS for foreign navies. Maybe." )〕 They have suffered from problems in their communications and radars and will require refits in these areas.〔("Redeeming Freedom – Changes for the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ship." )〕 The LCS is unable to defend themselves effectively against anti-ship cruise missiles, which are commonly employed in the littorals;〔Cavas, Christopher P. ("LCS: Quick Swap Concept Dead." ) ''Defense News'', 14 July 2012.〕 but does have survivability via its ability to disperse in shallow waters better than larger warships.〔(LCS Wargame Reveals New Tactics Amid Controversy ) - DoDBuzz.com, 2 April 2014〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Littoral combat ship」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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